Flint Institute of Music Troubadors' teachings instrumental to area schools

Ryan Garza | The Flint JournalLinden Elementary School first-grader Camdyn Fletcher, learns to play the violin with the help of Joe Deller of the Troubadors during a "musical petting zoo," where kids get to try out instruments.

The electric guitar is no great shakes for Buck Hudson. The 11-year-old Linden Elementary student has strummed the strings for years, so it's familiar territory.

But put a cello near him and his eyes widen as the instrument utters its deep, rich tones that are new to Buck's ears. Same goes for an electric violin that looks straight out of a "Star Trek" episode.

"The cello was really cool to see up close because before today I've only ever seen them in movies and never heard anything like that," he said. "Seeing them makes me think about other instruments I'd like to play some day."

Buck's response is exactly what the musical performers in the Troubadors look for when they travel to area elementary schools.

Ryan Garza | The Flint JournalLinden Elementary School students twist to 1970s music with members of the Flint Institute of Music's Troubador group.

A group of musicians from the Flint Institute of Music, the Troubadors features a string quartet and a storyteller who mix songs and stories to get students more familiar with musical concepts such as rhythm and tone as well as the instruments themselves.

In half-hour programs like the one Tuesday at Linden Elementary, the group engages hundreds of students through dancing, letting them play simple instruments like castanets or drums and teaching them about foreign music and dance, such as the tango from Argentina.

New also this year is the chance for some students to try out the stringed insruments -- violin, viola, cello and bass -- in a musical petting zoo, as well as bits of pop songs from The Beatles to Hannah Montana.

"We try to meet them at their level, where they feel comfortable, and go up from there," said Mary Margaret St. John, who leads the group and handles all of its bookings.

"The children love to explore the world, and music is something where that exploration fits in beautifully because they can feel it and relate to it. Doing the petting zoo this year for the first time, it's gone over like gangbusters because the children get to hear themselves playing these new instruments."

St. John said the Troubadors began about 12 years ago and followed in the footsteps of a more formal string quartet group that traveled and played at area schools.

The FIM wanted the music program to be more interactive and interesting for children, leading to the Troubadors and its almost "Sesame Street" meets summer camp approach.

The group is scheduled for 60 elementary school visits this year, but would like to eventually reach all of the 100 or so lower grade schools in Genesee County.

The $570 per program pricetag makes that difficult in a time where school districts have to pinch pennies, even though the FIM covers costs for Flint schools and some programs, like Linden's, get funded through grants. Because of that challenge, the group is always seeking grants and donations to help maintain or expand its schedule.

"It's getting harder and harder for these schools to afford something like this, even though it's very useful and beneficial for the students," St. John said. "Even the grant money we get is drying up, so the situation is getting to be even more crucial."

What's also important is the discoveries children get to make through the course of the short program, from their first attempts at setting and keeping rhythm to learning how complex classical music -- think of the Looney Toons theme -- runs through popular culture.

"No matter what school we go to, they're consistently amazed when you start teaching them this stuff," said Sharon Boone, the storyteller and defacto host for the Troubadors.
"And no matter what the style, whether it's classical or country we bring to them, they relate to it and find it interesting. When we play Bach or Beethoven it gets really quiet and the kids start shushing each other because they're interested in something new. Any time you can get them to do that, you're doing OK."